14 DAY TRIAL // Motorola may be mostly known for its activities on the mobile electronics market, but this doesn't mean it doesn't have or doesn't want to have a stake in other areas, such as, in this case, the multimedia segment.
When it comes to live streaming of multimedia, especially TV broadcasts, set-top boxes are one of the more common items found in households.
Motorola's newest product for this market does resemble the concept of set-top box, to some extent, but it is a bit more advanced than most things seen so far.
Basically, the company's Televation, as it is called, is a broadband device which, via a WiFi router, streams live TV to connected IP devices located anywhere in a home.
A 1 GHz digital tuner is employed, along with a high-performance transcoder that translates MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 in real time, also changing the resolution and bit rate to match the capabilities of the viewing device in use.
Furthermore, an Ethernet jack can be plugged into the home WiFi router, making it easy to stream to any IP device, while the SecureMedia IPRM-HN technology provides security to those connections.
“Consumers love entertainment, and want easy access to TV no matter where they are in the home. Coupled with the explosive popularity of tablet devices, this represents a terrific opportunity for MSOs to increase customer satisfaction while generating new revenue,” said John Burke, senior vice president and general manager, Converged Experiences, Motorola Mobility.
“Televation gives our customers the ability to launch a new service that puts innovation back into TV, enabling their subscribers to enjoy TV beyond the TV.”
Client applications will be easy to make for the device, thanks to Software Development Kits (SDKs) for both Android and iOS that Motorola offers.
“Motorola shares our focus on developing innovative consumer entertainment experiences, and we’re pleased to have been able to work with them on Televation,” said Tony Werner, executive vice president and chief technology officer for Comcast.
“As the digital home continues to evolve, Televation is one of many tools that MSOs can use to give consumers a more portable TV experience in the home so they can watch anytime and anywhere.”